Equivalency

Published in the i Newspaper's Inquisitor series as Inquisitor 1663

Presented Grid and Preamble

The unclued across and down entries each illustrate one side of an equivalency whose statement and source is provided, in clue order, by superfluous letters generated in word play. Solvers must highlight nine cells in a straight line that provide a further cryptic representation of the equivalency.

Solution Grid with Explanation

 

“LAW IS A BOTTOMLESS PIT” according to John Arbuthnott in “THE HISTORY OF JOHN BULL”.  The unclued across entries are “LAWS” (SHULCHAN ARUCH, RIOT ACT, INVERSE SQUARE and ROZZERS), while the unclued down entries are PITS lacking their final letters – SCROBICUL(E), HANG(I), DEPRESSIO(N) and ABYS(S).  The highlighting required is the CRATE(R) RULE.